Seventy kindergartners and 26 of their older siblings between ages 6 and 12 participated in this study of kindergartner's relationships with siblings, peers, and friends. Popular kindergartners tended to have positive feelings about and identify with a sibling, whereas kindergartners who highly rated a same-sex friendship tended not to have…

Reviews research from 1980s focusing on families who are beyond child-rearing years. Sees later-life families as characterized by continuity and changes as they experience marriage, divorce, widowhood, remarriage, childlessness, grandparenthood, sibling relationships, and family caregiving. Suggests areas for future research focusing on…

Reviews children's books that emphasize the strengthening of family ties. Characters in the books realize the importance and influence of family relationships as they struggle with sibling rivalry, self-discovery, peer relationships, a search for heritage, adoption, and death. (SM)

Children with mental retardation (n=32) and their younger nonretarded siblings were observed interacting in the home setting. Interactions were characterized by accentuated role asymmetries that favored the younger sibling. Competence of the mentally retarded child reliably predicted sibling role asymmetries. Gender differences in roles and…

Examined whether links between the marital relationship and sibling interaction were directed or mediated by the mother-child relationship. Found that older siblings' negative behavior was linked with negative dimensions of the marital and mother-child relationship. Younger siblings' negative behavior was linked with the mother-child and…

A survey of parents of 36 children with deaf-blindness found that relationships between siblings consisted of unequal roles, with siblings primarily taking on a helping role. According to parents, unique modifications needed to interact effectively with individuals with deaf-blindness were not being implemented by the siblings. (Author/CR)

Investigated the endings of sibling conflicts in 40 families at two time periods. Observed four types of conflict endings: compromise, reconciliation, submission and no resolution. Found that conflict typically ended with no resolution, followed by submission, compromise and finally reconciliation. Discovered that parents influence conflict…

Examines the psychological adjustment of well child siblings living with siblings with diabetes. Psychological adjustment was assessed by measuring self-concept; behavioral difficulties; competence; anxiety; and depression on standardized tests. The well siblings demonstrated significant internal psychological stressors and maintained high levels…

Examined sibling influence on delinquency in 164 brother and sister pairs over 4-year period. Found that sibling similarity for self-reports of delinquent behavior were highly correlated for brothers and sisters. Conditional effects of high hostile-coercive relationships and older sibling delinquency predicted younger sibling delinquency in both…

Examines the impact of gender, marital status, and parent status on emotional closeness, confiding, and contact among siblings in middle and later life. Using data from a multistage quote sample that includes 528 respondents ages 55 and older who have 1 or more siblings, characteristics of respondents and siblings are studied. (Author)

Reports on study conducted to understand the consequences of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing on the family. Study reveals changes in attitudes of the mothers of pregnant teens could create prime context for younger siblings to engage in delinquent or sexual behavior. Suggests the whole family participate in an intervention treatment to…

In the present study, the authors investigated the effectiveness of a sibling-mediated intervention in supporting the social behaviors of young children with autism. They used a multiple-baseline design across four sibling dyads to examine the effectiveness of the intervention. The researchers taught the typically developing siblings ways to…

Extensive sibling conflict is predictive of multiple poor adjustment outcomes during adolescence and early adulthood, but the frequency and developmental impact of such conflict may be conditional on ineffective parenting. Thus, sibling conflict may add to or amplify the negative effects of ineffective parenting on adolescent boys' adjustment.…

This paper reports on a two-year study exploring children's understandings of disability. It focuses on findings from interviews conducted with 24 children, aged 6 to 19, who had disabled siblings, exploring their perceptions of impairment, disability and difference. Most were very aware of their sibling's impairment but the majority did not see…

The classical attachment theory holds to the notion of a monotropic model. Such a model leads to a view of the mother as first and most important figure in an infant's life. A polytropic view of attachment moves us toward a model of simultaneous and multiple attachment figures. In particular, it is argued that peer attachment is a separate but…